Trolley attachment.



No. 684,408. Patented 001.15, 190|.

T. J. BURKE.

TROLLEY ATTAGHMENT.

Applicaton med July 1, 1901.) (No Modem UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

THOMAS J. BURKE, OF NET ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

TROLLEY ATTACHM ENT.

'srncrnroarion forming part of Letters Patent Nace-1,408, dated october 15, 1901'.

Application filed July l, 1901. Serial Not 66,692. (No modeLl To @ZZ whom t may norwegian,.-Y

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. BURKE, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Trolley Attachments, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to overhead trolleys for electric-railway lines.

The object of the invention is to provide a.

trolley connection whereby cars may move in opposite directions on parallel tracks and draw the electric current from a single wire located in the space between the tracks.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of t-he upper portion of the trolley and broken portion of wire, showing bridge depressed. Fig. 2 is a cent1-al section through the sheave and pole. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of same parts as Fig. 1, but with bridge lowered. Fig. 4 is a plan of the same parts. Fig. 5 is a broken side elevation of lower part of trolley-pole and support. Figs. 6 and '7 are sections of the base-support for trolley-pole.

The numeral 1 represents a portion of a line-wire through which electric currents are conveyed. The line-wire is supported in any suitable manner in a position above the tracks and between the same, such location of wire being common.

2 represents the contact wheel or sheave at the top of the trolley-pole. This sheave is connected to the motor mechanism in any of the usual ways for conveying electric power from the line-wire to the motor on the car.

As the wire 1 isat one side of the ear, the trolley-pole is inclined in two directions to bring the sheave into bearing relation with the wire.

3 indicates the upper portion of the trolleypole, and 4 an elbow thereon, from which the hollow arm '5 extends about horizontally to support the sheave 2 in contact with the wire 1. (See Figs. 1-to 4.)

The numeral 6 represents the bridge, which guides the sheave of the opposite trolley when two cars pass each other. This bridge is a thin bar, having extending branches 7, which extend alongside the wire 1 when the bridge is elevated and guide the bridge parallel with the wire.

slack in the cable.

The bridge 6 is supported by braces 8 S, which are connected by a pivot 9 to a knuckle on the horizontal part of the trolley-pole. A cord or cable 10 is attached to any suitable fastening device between the bridge and the pivot 9, passes through a vslot in the arm 5 and above the pivot 9 and over a suitable sheave 11 in the hollow arm, and so inside the hollow trolley-pole 3. As will be understood by persons familiar with such mechanism, a pull or strain on cable 10 will swing the bridge upward into position shown in Fig. l with the bar just under the wire 1. The bridge is then inposi-tion to guide a trolley-wheel passing in the other direction, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The ends ofthe bridge are close to the wire, and the lower side of the bridge is about as wide as the wire and approaches the wire from its central face bya very gradual incline. The trolley-wheel (shown in dotted lines) when riding along the wire easily leaves the wire and runs along under the surface of the bridge until it passes wheel 2, when it again runs onto the wire.

The bridge 6 will be held up in close relation with the wire when the car is moving in one direction and will be allowed to drop down, as shownin Figs. 2 and 3, when the car moves in the other direction. The trolley-pole is held up toward the wire by any of the usual means--as, for instance, by springs 15 15, connected with the base of the trolleypole and its support.

2O represents a portion of the top ofthe car on which the trolley is supported. The cable 10 is continued through the hollow pole 3 and connected to draw-bar 2l, which bar extends down through a socket 22 and by a strong spring 23 is connected to a crank-lever 24 within the car. The lever or handle 25 may be swung one way or the other to'apply a pulling strain on cable 10, and so hold the bridge 6 up in proximity to wire 1, or the 1ever may be swung the other way to permit the bridge to swing down.

A stop 26 on the draw-bar limits the movement of lifting the bridge, and this stop can be moved on the draw-bar to compensate for The stop 26 is shown as connected to the draw-bar by a screw-thread. As will be understood, this connection of the bridge to its operating-lever through the hol- IOO low trolley-pole does not materially interfere with the free movement of the trolley-pole in the other directions usually required of such devices.

l. In combination with an overhead trolley pole and wire, a bridge or wheel track pivotally connected to said pole, and a cable passing through the pole by which the bridge may be held up, in close relation to the wire, substantially as described.

2. In combination With an overhead trolley pole and wire, a bridge supported on arms pivoted to lche pole, a cable connected to these arms, passing over a sheave in the pole and THOMAS J. BURKE'.

\Vitnesses: Y

CHAS. A. SCHREIBER', WM. F. BooHHoLTz.- 

